Suction box



Dec. 12, 1950 J. w. STEWART 2,533,597

I SUCTION BOX Filed Nov. 22, 1948 ZSheets-Sheet 1 'INVENTOR.

' J. WJteWart Dec. 12, 1 950 J. w. STEWART 2,533,697

SUCTION BOX Filed Nov. 22, 1948 Q 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

BY JWIASteW rt ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 12, 1950 SUCTION BOX John W. Stewart, New York, N. Y., assignor to Sir Joseph W. Ishcrwood & 00., Ltd., New York, N. Y., a corporation of Great Britain Application November 22, 1948, Serial No. 61,349 In Great Britain March 1, 1948 Claims.

This invention relates to suction boxes which are normally used for evacuating liquids from storage tanks, said boxes normally being supported above the bottom of the tank and having an open bottom and means for attaching a suction pipe or line.

This invention more particularly is applicable in the pumping of viscous liquids, such as heavy fuel oil, crude oils, creosote, molasses, cotton seed oil, palm oil and the like, carried in seagoing tankers. Heretofore known suction boxes have had disadvantages as set out below, when so used, and the principal object of this invention is to overcome or minimize these disadvantages. It is, however, to be understood that most of these disadvantages also apply to suction boxes for use in land tanks, and therefore the invention is also applicable to such tanks.

Prior known suction boxes generally have been formed with an elongated bell mouth, and provided with a suction pipe having commonly a lO-inch diameter with a resulting circumference of approximately 31.4 inches. It is known that to obtain efiicient suction over the full area of the mouth, the box must be supported or spaced from the bottom of the tank at a height at least equal to one-quarter the diameter of the pipe, that is to say not less than 2%,; inches in the above example of -inch suction pipe. If, however, the box is supported at such a height of 2 inches than the tank cannot be properly drained, and proper drainage can only be had if the bottom of the suction box is supported at approximately inch from the bottom of the tank. With heretofore known boxes, for a 10- inch diameter suction pipe, the circumference at the box mouth must be about 105 inches, so that the diameter becomes but, when pumping viscous liquids, it has been found and is generally accepted practice that this figure must be one-and-a-half times to double in order to effect the desired evacuation of the tank. Thus the diameter may even have to be as great as or approximately '70 inches. Now in seagoing tankers it would be extremely difficult if not impossible to use a suction box with a diameter at its mouth of approximately 70 inches, due to the internal construction of the tankers. The object of the present invention therefore is to provide a suction box which will have the necessary circumference (or perimeter) at its mouth, that is to say of approximately 200 inches, but the diameter of which is such that the box can be effectively employed in restricted areas such as occur in tankers.

According to the present invention the bottom peripheral or circumferential edge of a suction box is fluted so as to provide a number of inwardly projecting pockets spaced around the edge, which pockets are open only at their bottoms and at their outward ends, the arrangement being such that a greatly increased peripheral or circumferential length, on which suction acts, is attained with a considerably reduced overall dimension or diameter of the base of the suction box.

The suction box may be either square (or rectangular) or substantially circular at the base and is preferably upwardly convergent. The suction box may be provided with a single top flange for connection to a vertically disposed suction pipe, and/or if desired with a lateral flange for connection to an angularly disposed suction pipe.

With the foregoing general statements in mind, reference is had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which like numerals designate like parts in all the views, and wherein- Fig. 1 is a perspective View of the exterior of one form of thesuction box;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the bottom thereof; and

Figs. 3 and 4 are similar perspective views of another form of the suction box.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 the bottom peripheral edge of the hollow suction box is substantiallysquare (or rectangular) and is fluted to provide a number of inwardly projecting pockets 2 spaced around the edge, which pockets are open only at their bottoms and at their outward ends, and sloped downwardly and inwardly from the top, the amount of slope being dependent upon the areas required. The sides 3 of the box slope upwardly and inwardly so that the shape of the box is substantially pyramidal, and the top of the box is shown as being provided with a flange 4 adapted in known manner to receive a vertically disposed suction pipe. The box is supported 0n normally provided supporting legs or feet 5.

As shown in Figs. 3 and 4 the hollow suction box is substantially cone-shaped with the bottom of the box substantially circular, and around the circumferential edge the box is also fluted to provide the pockets Hi. In this modified form of the invention, in addition to the top flange H, the box is provided with a lateral flange l2 surrounding an aperture provided for the inspection of, or the cleaning of dirt or foreign mat-- ter from, the interior of the box, said aperture to be provided with any suitable cover (not shown but readily understood).

When using suction boxes in accordance with this invention, as applied to sea-going tankers or other vessels, and for pumping viscous liquids, one suction box can be positioned in each port tank and another box in each starboard tank, the box in a port tank being coupled. through one suction pipe to the vessels main port side suction line, whilst the box in a starboard tank is coupled through another suction pipe to the vessels main starboard suction line, the said suction pipes from the boxes being valved. Also-it is contemplated that a suction box can be employed in a starboard (or port) tank with similar valved pipes running to either or both of the main port" and starboard suction lines.

example, one type of viscous liquid is stored in a pair of adjacent port and starboard tanks, a difif'erent type of viscous liquid is stored in another pair of adjacent port and starboard tanks'the two different viscous liquids can be I evacuated from their tanks simultaneously with-- out causing mixture of the liquids because, for examplethe main port suction line can be in suction communication with the suction boxes in one pair of adjacent port and starboard tan-ks,

whilst the main starboard suction line can be in suction communication with the suction boxes in the other pair of adjacent port and starboard tanks; hence various combinations of hook-ups are possible, to meet practically all liquid evacuation problems.

It will be apparent that only one connecting flange such as 4 may be provided on the suction box, and that it would preferably be arranged at the top of the box for connection with a vertically disposed suction pipe. However, it is contemplated that such a flange could be arranged on one or more of the sides of the box for connection with an angularly disposed suction pipe, said laterally arranged flange serving as a substitute for, or in addition to, the top flange.

Suction boxes constructed in accordance with the present invention are supported by the normally provided supporting legs 5 at a height 01" inch fromv the bottom of the tank. With a -inch suction pipe and a substantially circular base, the diameter of the mouth of the box is aproximately 24 inches and, in view of the pockets or fluted formation, a total perimetric length of approximately 290 inches is provided, thus at taining the desired suction area with a considerably reduced diameter of suction box. The sameis correspondingly true of the rectangularl'y formed suction box.

It is obvious that those skilled in the art may vary the I details of construction and arrangements of parts without departing from the spirit of this invention, wherefore it isdesirednot to be limited to the exact foregoing disclosure except as may be required by the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A suction box for evacuating liquids from Thus it will be understood that if, l.

storage tanks, comprising upwardly and inwardly converging side walls, a plurality of feet for supporting said box upon the floor of a storage tank with the lower edges of said walls spaced from the tank floor, and a plurality of inwardly projecting pockets formed in the lower edge of said walls, each pocket, being open only at its bottom and at its outward end.

2. A suction box for evacuating liquids from storage tanks, comprising side walls, the bottom peripheral edge portion of said walls being fluted to provide a plurality of inwardly projecting pockets spaced around the said edge, each pocket being open only at its bottom and at its outward end, and a plurality of feet for supporting said box upon: the floor of a storage tank with the lower edges of said walls spaced from the tank floor.

3. A suction box for evacuating liquids from storage tanks, comprising side walls, the bottom peripheral edge portion of said walls being flirted to provide a plurality of inwardly projecting. pockets spaced around the said edge, each pocket being openv only at its bottom and at its: outward end, said box provided with a flange adapted. to receive a suction pipe, and a plurality" of feet for supporting said box upon the door of a storage tank with the lower edges of said walls: spaced' from the. tank floor.

4. A suctionbox for evacuating liquids from storage tanks comprising side walls, the bottom peripheral edge portion of said walls being fluted to provide a plurality of inwardly projecting pockets spaced around the said edge, each pocket. being open only at its bottom and at. its outward end, each of said pockets sloping downwardly and inwardly from the top of the pocket, the amount of slope being dependent upon the area of pocket required, and a plurality of feet for supporting said box upon the floor of a storage tank with the lower edges of said walls spaced from the tank floor.

5. A suction box for evacuating liquids from storage tanks, comprising side walls, the bottom,

peripheral edge portion of said walls being fluted to provide a plurality of inwardly projecting pockets spaced around the said edge, each pocket being open only at its. bottom and at its outward end, said box provided with a flange adapted to receive a suction pipe, eachof said pockets sloping downwardly and inwardly from the top of the. pocket, the amount of slope being dependent upon the area of pocket required, and a plurality of feet for supporting said box upon the floor of a storage tank with the lower edges of said walls spaced from the tank floor, whereby a greatly increased peripheral length on which suction acts is attained with a considerably reduced crosswise dimension of the base of the suction box.

JOHN W. STEWART.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 936,222 Dalzell Oct. 5, 1909 969,997 Thiem Sept. 13, 1910 1,192,409 Frame July 25, 1916 2,023,586 Harrod Dec. 19-, 1935 2,078,101 Schmermund Apr.'20, 193-7- 

